Norman Doidge, M.D., is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher and poet. He is on the Research Faculty at the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, in New York, and the University of Toronto’s Department of Psychiatry, and is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Toronto Institute of Psychoanalysis. He has authored over 190 scientific and popular articles.
His book, The Brain That Changes Itself, on neuroplasticity, has been described by the London Times as, “Brilliant…Doidge has identified a tidal shift in basic science…The implications are monumental.” The New York Times Science Times has written that The Brain That Changes Itself, has “implications…not only for individual patients with neurologic disease but for all human beings, not to mention human culture, human learning and human history.” Neurologist Oliver Sacks called it, “Fascinating… a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain.” The book has been an international and New York Times Bestseller, available in over 100 countries, has sold over 1 million copies. It was chosen by the Dana Brain Foundation journal, Cerebrum, from among the 30,000 brain books as best general book on the brain.
Of his latest book, The Brain’s Way of Healing, neuroscientist and neurologist V.S. Ramachandran,MD PHD has written it is, “Brilliant and highly original. Neurology used to be considered a depressing discipline with patients often displaying fascinating but essentially untreatable symptoms and disabilities. Drawing on the last three decades of research, Doidge challenges this view, using vivid portraits of patients and their physicians. The book is a treasure-trove of the author’s own deep insights and a clear bright light of optimism shines through every page.”
Among other things, this book shows how energy, and bodily movements can be used to alter the plastic brain, non-invasively. It discusses the role of balance and posture and bodily therapies in a variety of disorders. Harvard Psychiatrist, John Ratey, MD wrote of the new work, that it is “Stunning….The Brain’s Way of Healing is another ground breaking book by Norman Doidge. His style keeps you going into the deep dark secrets of how the brain works…. his reframing of remarkable treatments that I had categorized as gimmicky left me fascinated and humbled. He brings a whole new level of insight into the body, brain, mind connection that will impact any reader.”
Dr. Doidge has presented his work on five continents, at neuroscience institutes throughout the world, and the U.N., and the White House, and has produced 3 documentaries, showing people undergoing neuroplastic change.